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Uses of Improvisation and learning resources in School

INTRODUCTION

Improvisation in English language is an
element of creativity and resource-
fulness, it is the use of local resources in
our immediate environment to build,
construct, mould or make instructional
teaching-learning materials that can
assist in the smooth dissemination and
transfer of knowledge from teachers to
students, or coaches to athletes. The
result of improvisation in English language must be
functional, must merit social and
scientific recognition, operation and
function. It should have the utilitarian
value (Umar 2002 and Johnson 2005).
Improvisation in English language reveals that there are
possibilities of alternatives to teaching
and learning aids. It should therefore
meet specific teaching and learning
situation. Improvisation in English language is said to be an
act of designing a replica of standard
equipment to play the role it is
designated for. It is also an act of using
alternative resources to facilitate
instructions for teaching wherever there
is lack or specific first-hand teaching
aids (Johnson, 1999 and Tikon 2006).
Improvisation in English language develops skills in the
cognitive, affective and psychomotor
domains. Improvisation in English language has become
imperative in teaching and learning
because the economic situation makes
the cost of facilities and equipment very
high amidst decreasing or near lack of
purchasing power.

Even if facilities and equipment are
available, the increasing enrolment of
pupils/students into schools and
increasing number of sport lovers
amidst static or decreasing facilities and
equipment still pose .the problem of
insufficiency of facilities and equipment.
Improvisation in English language is an answer to the
problem associated with storage, repair,
replacement, replenishment of consum-
able components of commercially
available materials and also a solution
to the problem of intensive training of
teachers and students who will use the
facilities and equipment. The qualities
of improvisation in English language - talents include
creativities or resourcefulness and rich
imagination that are transformable into
realities. The local resources can be
remolded and used to satisfy the quest
for knowledge in the schools,
improvisation in English language is also the adoptive ability
of a resourceful teacher to produce
facilities and equipment locally at low
profile for teaching-learning processes
(Lawan 2005).

Talabi (1998) in Olajide (2007) sees
sports facilities as the physical structures
constructed for the use of sports and are
generally the immovable structures like
pitches swimming pools, courts, halls
etc and that facilities has quality which
makes learning or doing things easy or
simple. In the same vein, Bucher and
Krotee (2002) also observed that in
physical education and sports
instructional domain, all types of
equipment and supplies like the balls,
apparatus, nets, standard implements
etc will be needed for the conduct of
individual and team sports as well as for
other physical activities (considering the
increase number of enrolment and also
increase in the number of sport lovers)
sport programmes use supplies and
equipment that cost a lot of money.
Such materials are vital to the health
and safety of participants, to good
playing condition and to values derived
from the programme. It is therefore, of
paramount importance that alternative
method of improvisation in English language must be used
to see that physical education and sports
programmes have the facilities,
equipment and supplies necessary to
conduct quality programmes. The
improvised facilities and equipment
must be well planned, carefully
developed, made sufficient, and
appropriately utilized to suit the
sporting programme need at a particular
period. Such methods as renovating
existing plants, retrofitting and
converting existing structures and
instituting multiple uses of present
facilities are methods that will in no
small measure see to conduct of quality
sporting
programmes
(Obiyemi,
Adesoye and Ojo 2006).

Most of the factors on analytical work
and improvisation in English language emphasize abilities.
That is aptitudes of people, which
reckon on what they can do, particularly
with their hands. An improviser is
resourceful, innovative both in thoughts
and results (outputs or products).
Improvisation in English language is an element of
creativity. It is the use of local resources
in our immediate environment to build,
construct or mould or make
instructional teaching learning materials
that can assist in the smooth
dissemination and transfer of knowledge
from teachers to students (Lawan 2005).
The purpose of this paper is to find out
the need for improvisation in English language and whether
improvisation in English language of facilities and
equipment in sports still instills
resourcefulness, skills and creativeness
in the leamer, the teacher, sport lovers
and the administrators to the maximum
potentials.

Learning resources have been defined by various authors. For example, Obanya
(1989) viewed them as didactic materials thing which are supposed to make learning and
teaching possible. According to Abdullahi (1982), learning resources are materials or
tools locally made or imported that could made tremendous enhancement of lesson
impact if intelligently used. Ikerionwu (Isola, 2010) referred to them as objects or devices,
which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner. Learning resources
are also described as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the
sense organs during teaching (Agina-obu, 2005).

Learning resources have been defined by various authors. For example, Obanya
(1989) viewed them as didactic materials thing which are supposed to make learning and
teaching possible. According to Abdullahi (1982), learning resources are materials or
tools locally made or imported that could made tremendous enhancement of lesson
impact if intelligently used. Ikerionwu (Isola, 2010) referred to them as objects or devices,
which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner. Learning resources
are also described as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the
sense organs during teaching (Agina-obu, 2005).
Learning resources are in various classes, such as audio or aural, visual or audio-
visual. Thus , audio learning resources refer to those devices that make use of the
sense of hearing only, like radio, audio tape recording, and television. Visual instructional
materials on the other hand, are those devices that appeal to the sense of sight only
such as the chalkboard, chart, slide, and filmstrip. An audio-visual instructional material
however, is a combination of devices which appeal to the sense of both hearing
and seeing such as television, motion picture and the computer. Among the instructional
materials the classroom teacher uses, the visuals out-numbered the combination of
the audio and audio-visual.

Learning resources and Academic Achievement

There have been several studies on learning resources and academic
achievement. For instance, Momoh (Isola, 2010), conducted a research on the effects of
instructional resources on students’ performance in West Africa School Certificate
Examinations (WASCE) in Kwara State. He correlated material resources with
academic achievements of students in ten subjects. Data were collected from the
subject teachers in relation to the resources employed in the teaching. The achievements
of students in WASCE for the past five years were related to the resources
available for teaching each of the subjects. He concluded that material resources
have a significant effect on student’s achievement in each of the subjects.
In the same manner, Moronfola (1982) carried out a research in Ilorin Local
Government Area of Kwara State. She used questionnaires to collect data on the material
resources available for the teaching of some selected subjects in ten secondary schools
and related these to students’ achievements in each of the selected subjects and to the
amount of resources available for the teaching of the subjects. Finding showed a significant
effect of material resources on the students’ academic performance in these
subjects.
In the same vein, Popoola (1990) investigated the effect of instructional
resources on the academic achievements of students in Ogun State. Five secondary
schools in Abeokuta were used for this study. Questionnaires were designed to elicit
r esponses on learning resources that were available for the teaching and learning
of each of the three school subjects he examined. He collected WASC examination
results for five years and compared achievements of students in schools with adequate
material resources and achievements of students in schools with inadequate material
resources. He found a significant difference in the achievements of the two sets of students. The
schools with adequate learning resources performed better than those with inadequate
learning resources.

Factors Affecting Improvisation of Learning resources

Balogun (2002) identified two main constraints militating against the successful
improvisation of Science equipment. These are the technical and the human factors
respectively . While the technical factors relate to the question of degree of accuracy
and precision that is possible with the improvised equipment, the human factor relates
to the teachers’ skill in developing the resources while providing the appropriate learning
experience to the learners.
Also, Maduabunmi (2003) reported lack of adequate professional training as a major
problem militating against the effective use of local resources for Science teaching. Oyediran
(Isola, 2010) then stressed the need for a definite well planned training programme of
improvisation for teachers. He suggested regular meaningful workshop on improvisation
technique for Science teachers to improve and up-to-date their competence.
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new struct ures or symbols, and/or new ways to act. This invention cycle occurs most effectively when the practitioner has a thorough intuitive and technical understanding of the necessary skills and concerns within the improvised domain. Improvisation can be thought of as an "on the spot" or "off the cuff" spontaneous activity.
The skills of improvisation can apply to many different abilities or forms of communication and expression across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines. For example, improvisation can make a significant contribution in music, dance, cooking, presenting a speech, sales, personal or romantic relationships, sports, flower arranging, martial arts, psychotherapy, and much more. Techniques of improvisation are widely trained in the entertainment arts; for example, music, theatre and dance. To "extemporize" or "ad lib" is basically the same as improvising. Colloquial terms such as "let's play it by the ear", "take it as it comes", and "make it up as we go along" are all used to describe "improvisation".
The simple act of speaking requires a good deal of improvisation because the mind is addressing its own thought and creating its unrehearsed delivery in words, sounds and gestures, forming unpredictable statements that feed back into the thought process (the performer as listener), creating an enriched process that is not unlike instantaneous composition [with a given set or repertoire of elements].[1]
Where the improvisation is intended to solve a problem on a temporary basis, the "proper" solution being unavailable at the time, it may be known as a stop-gap. This particularly applies to engineering improvisations.

Teachers do not always have access to the resources needed to conduct science experiments. Improvisation is the act of creating something or using something in the absence of the ideal tool. Science teachers often try to teach students about scientific principles through the use of lab experiments, though they do not always have access to the resources needed to optimally perform experiments. Innovative teachers can use cheaper products to simulate experiments. Teachers can also help students learn improvisation as an important life skill. Teachers can work with students to come up with ways to improvise, forcing students to think critically about the scientific concepts underlying the devices.
Improvisation is, most simply stated, the process of making things up on the spot using only the resources at hand. A central tenet of improvisation is that creativity and freedom emerge from structure. Perhaps counterintuitively, it is the very presence of restrictions that fosters new possibilities. A cook improvises a dish without a recipe, for example, by creatively combining the food available in the refrigerator. A young woman with no time to hem her new pants discovers that duct tape does the trick perfectly. A jazz musician improvises a new riff, building off of his existing knowledge of music, his prior experience playing the trumpet, and the notes and tempos created in the moment by fellow musicians. In all these examples, a constraint on resources becomes a resource in and of itself: improvisation is the act of finding opportunities for creativity amidst limitations.

Improvisation rests on a similar premise, that within the safe structure of a form, improvisers have the freedom to surrender what they think they know, and to discover the surprises offered when their imaginations interact with the resources available. Improvisation can serve, therefore, as a form of inquiry, in that new knowledge unfolds during the course of the improvisation. In this context, imagination, improvisation, and inquiry have certain commonalities. All are generated, firstly, by a willingness to surrender to the unknown; all are characterized, secondly, by an unfolding of new possibilities; thirdly, all have the potential to release an individuals' native knowledge; and finally, all can be generative forces for creating something new.
* * *
In the short activity that I led with my students, we used improvisational storytelling to activate our imaginations and to inquire into the sources of creation myths. The activity was completely verbal, accomplished while sitting around a table.

1. Improvisation Examples

o Schools in need of magnets can harvest them from broken microwaves and loudspeakers. Magnets allow teachers to perform more experiments than any other type of equipment. Scientists use crucibles to heat liquids, but these crucibles can be too expensive for most schools. But teachers can use crown bottle tops to heat liquids at lower temperatures. Fruits and electrodes can create electrochemical cells.Teachers can help students learn about air pressure through oil cans and students can learn about organic molecules using clay and toothpicks.

Harnessing the Surrounding Environment

o Improvisation requires that teachers use resources available in the surrounding area. Those training teachers can hold workshops in the area and give teachers advice on using available resources to perform classroom experiments, especially in impoverished areas. Despite having knowledge of the scientific principles, many teachers do not realize that they have plenty of resources available for lab experiments. Once the teachers begin to understand the principles behind improvisation, they can begin improvising their own tools. Also, a lot of teachers lack confidence in their abilities to design their own experiments.
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Providing Concrete Examples
o Students have a harder time understanding abstract scientific concepts when reading about them in a textbook. Concrete experiments help the students see how the scientific concepts work in reality. Also, some students are kinesthetic learners, meaning that they understand concepts better by doing than by being shown or told about the idea. Thus, they will benefit from performing the experiments themselves. Given how expensive the resources are, some teachers must have students share resources to save money. However, the act of sharing resources gives students the opportunity to engage in group work and develop teamwork skills.
Simulations
o Simulations allow students to visually understand complex science concepts when teachers cannot realistically re-create a concept due to financial constraints. Some simulations allow students to carry out actions that allow them to engage in kinesthetic learning. The simulations can also have audio descriptions for auditory learners.

3 comments:

effective teaching is creative teaching that encompasses responsiveness, opportunism and improvisation. especially for us teachers, improvisation must be employed in our daily lessoning for effective teaching. and by some means, involve the learners to contribute to the improvisation proceeding. especially that i teach physics and the equipments are quite handsome in monetary forms, improvisation techniques help me a lot even to the depressed economy of ours.as i always say, teachers never excuse a way to failure! improvisation is the dexterity of our minds!!!Chikwanda Kauseni, Zambia.